|| || Template for Collaborative Lesson Plan – A. 4.3
Follow this lesson plan template. Keep the template text in bold font. Add your information in regular font.
Planning · Reading Comprehension Strategy- Strategy Three: Questioning (This seems to me to be a "determining main ideas" lesson. The students are not asking before, during, and after questions. The objectives have them finding answers rather than asking questions. The graphic organizers support a main ideas lesson.) · Reading Development Level- Emerging · Instructional Strategies- (Synthesizing - Reading Comprehension) - You did not include a research-based instructional strategy. Please see the instructional strategies on page 13 in CS4TRC and on all of the lesson plans. Your graphic organizer looks like you will have the students using notemaking. That is the strategy that could be indicated here. · Lesson Length- 30 to 60 min. over five sessions · Purpose Students will read to find information about insects and share their new knowledge with classmates and other first grade classes. This lesson begins with an investigation about an unusual insect found on the playground as a motivating factor to introduce an upcoming insect unit of study. · ObjectiveThe students will conduct a mini-investigation to identify an insect. Students will search for and collect information on the insect and communicate their findings to other first grade classes. Objectives are stated as such: At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Locate information in print and online resources. 2. Use a graphic organizer to record notes. 3. Etc. · Resources, Materials, and Equipment Children’s Literature Bugs Are Insects by Anne Rockwell, and Insects by John Woodward and Leon Gray Insects by Adele Richardson Investigating Insects with a Scientist by Patricia Murphy Beetles by Deirdre Prischmann (Depending upon the holdings of the school library, these titles are merely suggestions to begin the inquiry and can easily be substituted with other available print resources.) This list of print resources could be richer. As a school librarian, selecting resources should be one of your greatest strengths.
Brava. This graphic organizer is age appropriate. It seems to me students will be using it to record notes. Notemaking is a research-based instructional strategy.
Materials Age appropriate library books and Internet resources, pencils, colored pencils, paper, Equipment A video camera, computer lab for creating a 2-minute video using Movie Maker, Interactive whiteboard · Collaboration Collaborative partnership between Lisa BrackenSquires (first grade teacher), Jennifer Ramirez (school librarian), and the technology resource teacher - This should be a description of the partnership. See the examples in CS4TRC. · Assessment Students will use the following checklist to monitor their work during the research process.
Your assessment tools for students and for educators are first-rate. Brava! Do you agree that what you are actually assessing "main ideas" rather than students' ability to question?
The following form will be used by the teachers to assess student’s presentations.
The following form will be used by the students to assess other student’s presentations. Student's at lower reading levels will be paired with students of higher reading levels to help them read the rubric.
· Standards- From Standards for the 21st Century Learner (AASL, 2009)
Standard 1:Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame search for new understanding.
Standard 3: Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.
Skills Indicators: 3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry-based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on the lesson. 3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.
Dispositions Indicator: 2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning.
Responsibilities Indicator: 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator: 1.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product
Reading and/or writing TEKS - Reading and Writing:
The student can construct meaning by asking and answering who, what, when, why, where and how questions about what is read.
(14) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(B) identify important facts or details in text, heard or read; Yes! This is a "determining main ideas" standard!
(17) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:
(E) publish and share writing with others.
Other content areas
TEKS - Science: Students can ask questions about objects, organisms, events, places, or relationships in the environment. (4) In Grade 1, students observe and describe the natural world using their five senses. Students do science as inquiry in order to develop and enrich their abilities to understand the world around them in the context of scientific concepts and processes. Students develop vocabulary through their experiences investigating properties of common objects, earth materials, and organisms. (A) A central theme in first grade science is active engagement in asking questions, communicating ideas, and exploring with scientific tools in order to explain scientific concepts and processes like scientific investigation and reasoning; matter and energy; force, motion, and energy; Earth and space; and organisms and environment. Scientific investigation and reasoning involves practicing safe procedures, asking questions about the natural world, and seeking answers to those questions through simple observations and descriptive investigations.
(4) Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses age-appropriate tools and models to investigate the natural world. The student is expected to:
(A) collect, record, and compare information using tools, including computers, hand lenses, primary balances, cups, bowls, magnets, collecting nets, notebooks, and safety goggles; timing devices, including clocks and timers; non-standard measuring items such as paper clips and clothespins; weather instruments such as classroom demonstration thermometers and wind socks; and materials to support observations of habitats of organisms such as aquariums and terrariums.
Information literacy TEKS - (6) Information acquisition. The student evaluates the acquired electronic information. The student is expected to: (B) determine the usefulness and appropriateness of digital information.
Educational technology Students can demonstrate creative thinking and construct new knowledge using technology
TEKS - (4) Information acquisition. The student uses a variety of strategies to acquire information from electronic resources, with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to: (A) apply keyword searches to acquire information; and (B) select appropriate strategies to navigate and access information for research and resource sharing.
Implementation · Process- The first graders found an interesting looking insect on the school playground during recess. The classroom teacher captured it in a jar and asked the students if they would volunteer to be our "resident bug detectives." She saw the school librarian in the teachers' lounge and told her about the excitement her students exhibited at finding this creature. She enlisted the help of the school librarian, to help the students with this investigation in the hopes that it would spark new interest in learning about other insects during our upcoming insect unit. She suggested bringing the students to the library to look for resources, but the materials in the library were rather too difficult for these beginning readers. The school librarian helped the students contact a local entomologist on the Aramco compound, who identified the insect as an assassin bug. This sparked a great deal of excitement and motivated them to search for more information. The school librarian assisted the students in gathering more details and information about the bug using age-appropriate library resources obtained through the inter-library loan system and the Internet. The investigation centered on two essential questions: What should people know about this insect? and Why would it be important for people to know these facts about it?
The above is really the beginning of the motivation.Brining in the expert is powerful. Although there is collaboration between the classroom teacher and librarian, you do not have coteaching in the motivation section. Please see my idea below.
Motivation Students found an unusual looking insect on the playground. The classroom teacher decided to use this teachable moment to introduce the upcoming insect unit. The motivation (on the part of the students) is great. Please see the introduction/motivation sections of the lessons in CS4TRC. What can the educators do to build on this? Here are my ideas: To introduce the lesson, educators can conduct an interview with one another regarding the insect. Where was it found? When was it found? What does it look like? What resources can we use to identify it? Why should we identify this insect? Both teachers will model making a brief note on the K-W-L chart as a preview of what students will be doing in the lesson.
Student-friendly Objectives
Do KWLQ chart with teacher(s) and class.
Research insect facts in the library using books and online websites.
Record facts in journal and organizer.
Complete self-assessment checklist.
Create insect video with group.
Presentation The lesson begins with the teacher asking the students to be the "resident bug detectives." (The lesson actually begins with the motivation. Please see the lesson plans in CS4TRC.)
A whole group session begins with the use of a KWLQ chart and the students indicate what background knowledge they have about insects in general. The teacher then asks the students if they would be willing and able to make a video about insects to share with the other first grade classes. Library resources are then collected by both the librarian and the teacher, and times to visit the library and computer lab are scheduled in order to conduct the information search. The information search is focused on the two essential questions: What should people know about this insect? and Why would it be important for people to know these facts about it? These are great essential questions. Will the students revisit these at the end of the lesson? It doesn't seem like their graphic organizers are leading them to answer these questions directly.
Student Participation Procedures or Student Practice Procedures- Students work in small groups under the supervision of the two collaborators (teacher and librarian) to use library and Internet resources. They proceed to gather information about the insect they found on the playground and record that information in their science notebook and/or the organizer provided by the teachers. Some students may elect to investigate other insects and the class is divided into 5 groups with four students in each group. Each group may be splintered into partnerships for effective access to computers in the computer lab. This is a good description. These procedures should be written in student-friendly terms as a bulleted list. Educators should post these for students' reference.
Guided Practice- To begin the discussion and investigation, one teacher will read an insect story Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell followed by both teachers working collaboratively to elicit student responses for the KWL chart. One teacher will ask questions while the other records the students' responses. This goes in the presentation section. This is what educators are doing to model locating information and making notes. Even though the educators ask questions, this is not a "questioning" strategy lesson. Please review that Chapter 5 in CS4TRC.
The students will work individually and in small groups with the classroom teacher to focus on and learn how to obtain information about their insect. They work in small groups using the classroom leveled reading library to gather and record pertinent information related to the two essential questions: What is important about this insect? and Why is it important for people to know about this insect? There is no place for them to record the answers to these on their graphic organizers. ???
Reading comprehension strategy lessons conducted by the classroom teacher will be centered on questioning during guided reading time. Additionally, the school librarian will assist small groups of students as they obtain their information. Students will pair/share read and record their findings in their own words on the various information templates provided by their teacher. This is an ongoing reading activity conducted in the classroom over the course of five days.
Small groups of students will work with both collaborators in a series of five additional sessions that will focus on the creation of the video presentation. In these sessions, the students will work collaboratively within their groups to select the most important facts they wish to share about the insect. They will divide the scripting work, draft the segments, rehearse their parts, and critique each other’s performances using selected rubrics. The video is an effective extension for the notemaking lesson.
Two parent volunteers will assist with the filming and in props the children may want to make for their group. Hurray for enlisting parents!
The technology resource teacher will assist with the creation of the video by supervising the use of the school video camera and by demonstrating how to use Movie Maker or PowerPoint in the computer lab.Students are continually monitored in the acquisition of their information to be sure they are focused on the two essential questions posed for this activity and in providing important details about the insect.
Closure After everyone has shared their video, come together as a whole class and fill out a chart on what students have learned from their classmates about the insect. Have students share what they have learned from doing the video and what they have learned from watching their friend’s videos.
Reflection Here are some questions to ask students to help them reflect on the entire lesson: What insect did we learn about today? This reflection question is not as effective as the other two. To improve: Where did we locate main ideas about our insects? How did we record the main ideas?
What are some new things we learned on how to research new things? How did we share our information with our friends?
What ideas can be shared about conducting a new investigation? What would you do differently if you were to do an activity similar to this one in the future? Use the KWLQ chart established at the beginning of the lesson to help the students reflect on what they learned, and for them to ask questions they still have about insects. Yes, reviewing and completing the K-W-L-Q chart is a way to close the lesson and reflect.
· Extensions-Ideas for extensions focus on moving into a more in-depth investigation of different insects, the life cycles of complete and incomplete metamorphosis. These are all wonderful ideas that could lead to further classroom-library collaboration for instruction.
Students will observe the different life cycles in a whole class study of various insects.
Students can set up an insect habitat for each creature they want to study,
write a report following the guidelines set by other graphic organizers provided by the teacher,
make a PowerPoint presentation to share with the class.
The teacher can enlist the help of the art teacher for the children to make large insect displays
With the assistance of the classroom teacher, students can set up a terrarium that includes plants and insects found on or near those plants.
Students can make mini-insect books with facts about various insects.
The class can plan a Bug Day interaction celebration and ask the local Aramco entomologist to give a presentation complete with insect specimens to observe and interact with.
(Moreillon 15) Moreillon, J. Collaborative strategies for teaching reading comprehension: Maximizing your impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2007.
· Reading Comprehension Strategy- Strategy Three: Questioning (This seems to me to be a "determining main ideas" lesson. The students are not asking before, during, and after questions. The objectives have them finding answers rather than asking questions. The graphic organizers support a main ideas lesson.)
· Reading Development Level- Emerging
· Instructional Strategies- (Synthesizing - Reading Comprehension) - You did not include a research-based instructional strategy. Please see the instructional strategies on page 13 in CS4TRC and on all of the lesson plans. Your graphic organizer looks like you will have the students using notemaking. That is the strategy that could be indicated here.
· Lesson Length- 30 to 60 min. over five sessions
· Purpose Students will read to find information about insects and share their new knowledge with classmates and other first grade classes. This lesson begins with an investigation about an unusual insect found on the playground as a motivating factor to introduce an upcoming insect unit of study.
· ObjectiveThe students will conduct a mini-investigation to identify an insect. Students will search for and collect information on the insect and communicate their findings to other first grade classes.
Objectives are stated as such: At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Locate information in print and online resources.
2. Use a graphic organizer to record notes.
3. Etc.
· Resources, Materials, and Equipment
Children’s Literature
Bugs Are Insects by Anne Rockwell, and Insects by John Woodward and Leon Gray
Insects by Adele Richardson
Investigating Insects with a Scientist by Patricia Murphy
Beetles by Deirdre Prischmann
(Depending upon the holdings of the school library, these titles are merely suggestions to begin the inquiry and can easily be substituted with other available print resources.) This list of print resources could be richer. As a school librarian, selecting resources should be one of your greatest strengths.
Websites
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/explore/bugs.htm
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/insects/insects.html
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/insects/
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/butterflies/cams.php#
http://www.draperbee.com/webcam/beecam.htm
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/index.html
Graphic Organizers
Materials Age appropriate library books and Internet resources, pencils, colored pencils, paper,
Equipment A video camera, computer lab for creating a 2-minute video using Movie Maker, Interactive whiteboard
· Collaboration Collaborative partnership between Lisa BrackenSquires (first grade teacher), Jennifer Ramirez (school librarian), and the technology resource teacher - This should be a description of the partnership. See the examples in CS4TRC.
· Assessment
Students will use the following checklist to monitor their work during the research process.
Your assessment tools for students and for educators are first-rate. Brava! Do you agree that what you are actually assessing "main ideas" rather than students' ability to question?
The following form will be used by the teachers to assess student’s presentations.
The following form will be used by the students to assess other student’s presentations. Student's at lower reading levels will be paired with students of higher reading levels to help them read the rubric.
· Standards-
From Standards for the 21st Century Learner (AASL, 2009)
Standard 1:Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge
1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame search for new understanding.
Standard 3: Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our
democratic society.
Skills Indicators:
3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry-based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on the lesson.
3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively.
3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.
Dispositions Indicator:
2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning.
Responsibilities Indicator:
1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator:
1.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product
Reading and/or writing
TEKS - Reading and Writing:
The student can construct meaning by asking and answering who, what, when, why, where and how questions about what is read.
(14) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(B) identify important facts or details in text, heard or read; Yes! This is a "determining main ideas" standard!
(17) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:
(E) publish and share writing with others.
Other content areas
TEKS - Science:
Students can ask questions about objects, organisms, events, places, or relationships in the environment.
(4) In Grade 1, students observe and describe the natural world using their five senses. Students do science as inquiry in order to develop and enrich their abilities to understand the world around them in the context of scientific concepts and processes. Students develop vocabulary through their experiences investigating properties of common objects, earth materials, and organisms.
(A) A central theme in first grade science is active engagement in asking questions, communicating ideas, and exploring with scientific tools in order to explain scientific concepts and processes like scientific investigation and reasoning; matter and energy; force, motion, and energy; Earth and space; and organisms and environment. Scientific investigation and reasoning involves practicing safe procedures, asking questions about the natural world, and seeking answers to those questions through simple observations and descriptive investigations.
(4) Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses age-appropriate tools and models to investigate the natural world. The student is expected to:
(A) collect, record, and compare information using tools, including computers, hand lenses, primary balances, cups, bowls, magnets, collecting nets, notebooks, and safety goggles; timing devices, including clocks and timers; non-standard measuring items such as paper clips and clothespins; weather instruments such as classroom demonstration thermometers and wind socks; and materials to support observations of habitats of organisms such as aquariums and terrariums.
Information literacy
TEKS - (6) Information acquisition. The student evaluates the acquired electronic information. The student is expected to:
(B) determine the usefulness and appropriateness of digital information.
Educational technology
Students can demonstrate creative thinking and construct new knowledge using technology
TEKS - (4) Information acquisition. The student uses a variety of strategies to acquire information from electronic resources, with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to:
(A) apply keyword searches to acquire information; and
(B) select appropriate strategies to navigate and access information for research and resource sharing.
Implementation
· Process-
The first graders found an interesting looking insect on the school playground during recess. The classroom teacher captured it in a jar and asked the students if they would volunteer to be our "resident bug detectives." She saw the school librarian in the teachers' lounge and told her about the excitement her students exhibited at finding this creature. She enlisted the help of the school librarian, to help the students with this investigation in the hopes that it would spark new interest in learning about other insects during our upcoming insect unit. She suggested bringing the students to the library to look for resources, but the materials in the library were rather too difficult for these beginning readers.
The school librarian helped the students contact a local entomologist on the Aramco compound, who identified the insect as an assassin bug. This sparked a great deal of excitement and motivated them to search for more information. The school librarian assisted the students in gathering more details and information about the bug using age-appropriate library resources obtained through the inter-library loan system and the Internet. The investigation centered on two essential questions: What should people know about this insect? and Why would it be important for people to know these facts about it?
The above is really the beginning of the motivation.Brining in the expert is powerful. Although there is collaboration between the classroom teacher and librarian, you do not have coteaching in the motivation section. Please see my idea below.
Motivation Students found an unusual looking insect on the playground. The classroom teacher decided to use this teachable moment to introduce the upcoming insect unit.
The motivation (on the part of the students) is great.
Please see the introduction/motivation sections of the lessons in CS4TRC.
What can the educators do to build on this? Here are my ideas: To introduce the lesson, educators can conduct an interview with one another regarding the insect. Where was it found? When was it found? What does it look like? What resources can we use to identify it? Why should we identify this insect? Both teachers will model making a brief note on the K-W-L chart as a preview of what students will be doing in the lesson.
Student-friendly Objectives
- Do KWLQ chart with teacher(s) and class.
- Research insect facts in the library using books and online websites.
- Record facts in journal and organizer.
- Complete self-assessment checklist.
- Create insect video with group.
Presentation The lesson begins with the teacher asking the students to be the "resident bug detectives." (The lesson actually begins with the motivation. Please see the lesson plans in CS4TRC.)A whole group session begins with the use of a KWLQ chart and the students indicate what background knowledge they have about insects in general. The teacher then asks the students if they would be willing and able to make a video about insects to share with the other first grade classes. Library resources are then collected by both the librarian and the teacher, and times to visit the library and computer lab are scheduled in order to conduct the information search. The information search is focused on the two essential questions:
What should people know about this insect? and Why would it be important for people to know these facts about it? These are great essential questions. Will the students revisit these at the end of the lesson? It doesn't seem like their graphic organizers are leading them to answer these questions directly.
Student Participation Procedures
or
Student Practice Procedures- Students work in small groups under the supervision of the two collaborators (teacher and librarian) to use library and Internet resources. They proceed to gather information about the insect they found on the playground and record that information in their science notebook and/or the organizer provided by the teachers. Some students may elect to investigate other insects and the class is divided into 5 groups with four students in each group. Each group may be splintered into partnerships for effective access to computers in the computer lab.
This is a good description. These procedures should be written in student-friendly terms as a bulleted list. Educators should post these for students' reference.
Guided Practice-
To begin the discussion and investigation, one teacher will read an insect story Bugs are Insects by Anne Rockwell followed by both teachers working collaboratively to elicit student responses for the KWL chart. One teacher will ask questions while the other records the students' responses.
This goes in the presentation section. This is what educators are doing to model locating information and making notes. Even though the educators ask questions, this is not a "questioning" strategy lesson. Please review that Chapter 5 in CS4TRC.
The students will work individually and in small groups with the classroom teacher to focus on and learn how to obtain information about their insect. They work in small groups using the classroom leveled reading library to gather and record pertinent information related to the two essential questions: What is important about this insect? and Why is it important for people to know about this insect?
There is no place for them to record the answers to these on their graphic organizers. ???
Reading comprehension strategy lessons conducted by the classroom teacher will be centered on questioning during guided reading time. Additionally, the school librarian will assist small groups of students as they obtain their information. Students will pair/share read and record their findings in their own words on the various information templates provided by their teacher. This is an ongoing reading activity conducted in the classroom over the course of five days.
Small groups of students will work with both collaborators in a series of five additional sessions that will focus on the creation of the video presentation. In these sessions, the students will work collaboratively within their groups to select the most important facts they wish to share about the insect. They will divide the scripting work, draft the segments, rehearse their parts, and critique each other’s performances using selected rubrics.
The video is an effective extension for the notemaking lesson.
Two parent volunteers will assist with the filming and in props the children may want to make for their group. Hurray for enlisting parents!
The technology resource teacher will assist with the creation of the video by supervising the use of the school video camera and by demonstrating how to use Movie Maker or PowerPoint in the computer lab.Students are continually monitored in the acquisition of their information to be sure they are focused on the two essential questions posed for this activity and in providing important details about the insect.
Closure
After everyone has shared their video, come together as a whole class and fill out a chart on what students have learned from their classmates about the insect. Have students share what they have learned from doing the video and what they have learned from watching their friend’s videos.
Reflection
Here are some questions to ask students to help them reflect on the entire lesson:
What insect did we learn about today? This reflection question is not as effective as the other two. To improve: Where did we locate main ideas about our insects? How did we record the main ideas?
What are some new things we learned on how to research new things? How did we share our information with our friends?
What ideas can be shared about conducting a new investigation? What would you do differently if you were to do an activity similar to this one in the future?
Use the KWLQ chart established at the beginning of the lesson to help the students reflect on what they learned, and for them to ask questions they still have about insects. Yes, reviewing and completing the K-W-L-Q chart is a way to close the lesson and reflect.
· Extensions- Ideas for extensions focus on moving into a more in-depth investigation of different insects, the life cycles of complete and incomplete metamorphosis. These are all wonderful ideas that could lead to further classroom-library collaboration for instruction.
(Moreillon 15)
Moreillon, J. Collaborative strategies for teaching reading comprehension: Maximizing your impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2007.